This dividend was based on members' savings and loan activity during 2013, with $6 million going to borrowers and $6 million going to savers. The amount each member received was determined by dividends earned and interest paid during the first 11 months of the year, the big Illinois credit union said.

On Dec. 16, dividends were deposited to members' savings accounts. Over the past 14 years, CEFCU has returned $75 million in extraordinary dividends to members.

"The credit union continues to see strong financial results, and this success is due in no small part to the continued loyalty of CEFCU member/owners,” CEFCU Board Chair Thea Robinson said in a prepared statement. “I am proud the credit union is able to extend this dividend, the largest in the history of the credit union, to members.”

CEFCU serves more than 297,000 members through 20 central Illinois branches, including a new branch that recently opened in Germantown Hills, Ill. The full-service branch is an energy efficient building that received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, which means the branch was built with recycled and re-used materials and utilizes natural lighting and natural fabrics, the credit union said.